the disabled list. After missing the first two weeks, he was eased back with pinch-hitting duty and play at first and third base. He started catching regularly again in late May and was hitting fairly well, when the 1981 Major League Baseball strike canceled two months of the season starting in mid-June. Play resumed in mid-August and Stearns finished with a respectable .271 average, but his run production dropped quite a bit from 1980 and he had only 14 extra base hits all season. In the season, Stearns's average was again at or above .300 for much of the first half. He was again on pace for around 40 doubles and was even on pace for nearly 30 stolen bases. At age 30, Stearns was picked for his fourth All-Star Game. He continued hitting well after the break, but after a month, began suffering the effects of elbow tendinitis. He went on the disabled list in mid-August and only made three pinch running appearances the rest of the season. The elbow injury that ended Stearns's 1982 season ultimately ended his career. In , he was unable to start the season and was put on the disabled list in mid-April. Unable to throw, he played in only four games, all as a pinch-runner. In , he spent some time with triple A Tidewater Tides and logged only one big league game in the first five months. He was well enough to play in September, but only played sporadically. After the season, the Mets traded Hubie Brooks, Mike Fitzgerald, Herm Winningham, and Floyd Youmans to Montreal for Carter. Stearns became a free agent and attempted a comeback with the Winter League's Ponce Lions, until re-injuring his elbow. Another comeback with the Cincinnati Reds' AAA Denver Zephyrs in was going well, until he was hit by a pitch in mid-May. Stearns made one final attempt at a comeback with the Texas Rangers, competing for a spot on their Opening Day roster in spring training in . Post-playing career In late , the Milwaukee Brewers hired Stearns as a scout and minor league instructor. In , he was the New York Yankees' bullpen coach. He was then hired by the Toronto Blue Jays as the manager of the AA-level Knoxville Blue Jays for and , reaching the post-season in the latter season. Stearns spent as a Cincinnati Reds scout, and as an ESPN broadcaster.